


Body Langauge (And All It's Nuances)

by infectedscrew



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics)
Genre: Emotional Piece, Friendship is beautiful, Gen, Intense Dancing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-07
Updated: 2016-05-07
Packaged: 2018-06-06 21:12:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6770059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infectedscrew/pseuds/infectedscrew
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A night alone in the Cave urges Cass to move in ways she didn’t think she could.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Body Langauge (And All It's Nuances)

**Author's Note:**

> A commissioner asked for a sweet, emotional piece just for Cass.

For a very brief moment, Bruce’s hand touched Cassandra’s shoulder. It was unnecessary but it grounded Cass in a way she didn’t think it was possible to. She looked up at the man she’d come to think as a father. Not a perfect one by any means but better than anything she had before. He wasn’t looking out at her as he pulled away and spoke.

Even from her angle she could see that there was something in Bruce’s expression that, for once, Cass couldn’t read.

“You’ll stay in tonight,” he said, words succinct.

Cass didn’t argue but Stephanie certainly did.

“Why can’t she come out?” She demanded, hands on her hips and lower lip poking out.

Just behind her Tim and Dick exchanged a very obvious glance.

“She just came back from Hong Kong and I need someone to watch that test,” Bruce explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“So one bad trip and she’s benched?” Stephanie threw a hand in Cass’ direction.

Cass shook her head once.

“You’re not going to argue?” She questioned, clearly surprised.

It was one of Cass’ favorite things about her. Everything was so easy to read, right on the top and painfully honest. She never had to look to hard to know what was going on in Stephanie’s life. That openness and willingness to fight for Cass had become an anchor and balance in Cass’ chaotic life.

Cass shook her head again. While she understood Stephanie’s anger, she also understood Bruce’s reasons for making her stay.

Hong Kong had been brutal, both physically and emotionally. She had gone through a lot and had been alone since Tim had been forced to leave for his own case. Only Bruce’s guidance had pulled her back. As much as she didn’t want to admit it to herself, the very idea of going out on Gotham’s streets made her exhausted.

Stephanie opened her mouth, paused and closed it again. She huffed.

“Quite the impression of a guppy you have there, Brown,” Damian commented, tugging his gloves tight as he made his way down to the Batmobile.

Instantly that annoyance was transferred from father to son. She shook her fist at the back of his head while Dick laughed and steered her to his bike. They were riding together tonight and he thought it was best they get out before any more arguing happens.

Bruce pulled his cowl on. He didn’t spare another glance to Cass as he followed Damian down to his car.

Only Tim lingered behind for a moment. His cowl was still off but his face was as blank as ever. Bruce’s return had been just as whirlwind for him as it had been for Cass. Unlike the rest of the family, Tim was much better at hiding what was swimming in his thoughts. It was only in the tiniest movements that Cass knew what was happening.

Tim was the opposite of Stephanie in all ways. All his movements were small and his expression changes minute. Most of all, he was quiet. The gentle but fierce nature comforted Cass just as much as Stephanie’s spirit did. When she needed peace, she could usually find it with Tim.

Between the two of them, Cass knew she would find a warm welcome and understanding. Both of them could read her in their own way and on those days when she really didn’t want to use her words, they did it for her.

“If you need, call,” Tim said, voice carrying in the cave despite his soft tone.

Cass gave him a small tilt of her head, a silent acknowledgment.

Tim offered her a smile before the cowl went up and Red Robin entirely replaced the teenager. He turned and headed down to his Red Bird. In seconds, he was speeding out of the cave with the rest.

With all the people gone, the cave was still vibrant with noise. Bats chattered in crevices along the ceiling, water dripped far below and electricity hummed as the computer beeped gently with it’s progress.

For a moment, Cass closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the damp, cool air. Releasing it, she opened her eyes and looked around the darkness. The space folded around her like Batman’s cape, like a blanket and the hand of a friend. She was comfortable here and did not have to calculate her movements.

The computer beeped, drawing her out of her thoughts. She stepped away from the stairs leading to the vehicles and moved over to it.

One of the many screens was crunching the numbers of Bruce’s newest test. A toxin had shown up in the Narrows that seemed to be a terrifying mix of Crane’s fear gas and an organic material that could only be Ivy’s. It made it very easy to introduce the compound into the human body and cause it to release far more rapidly than previous versions.

So far the computer had had a tough time deciphering the components.

The beep was just it’s furious announcement that it hadn’t discovered anything but was still trying.

Cass reached down to lightly pat the monitor. “Good luck,” she whispered.

There was another beep and Cass settled in Bruce’s huge, comfortable chair in front of the consoles. She crossed her arms over the keyboard and rested her chin on top of them. After a moment she had to close her eyes, the glare of the computer bothering her.

Bruce had installed countless counter measures to combat the darkness of the cave and the harshness of the screens, just to ensure that his eyes never wore out from staring too long. Despite that, Cass was still not a big fan of computers. She found them cold, impersonal and the screens made her eyes hurt after awhile. She could easily sit and watch Stephanie play video games or scroll through the internet but she was usually sitting away from her and not directly in front of it.

Turning her head to the side, she rested, listening to the buzz of the computer as it worked.

She didn’t know how much time had past before her thoughts started to consume her. She shifted in the chair, a restless abortive movement that she had picked up from Stephanie. All her life she had been taught the economy of motion, no action was a wasted one but the more time she spent with her new family she learned the value of restless, useless movement. It was a way for her body to move when her mind couldn’t make words. To shift her muscles when her thoughts grew too loud.

As of right now, she needed to move. Hong Kong was flooding back into her thoughts and her heart was starting to pound.

“Music,” she gasped, brow furrowed and eyes squeezed shut.

The computer gave a small sound of acknowledgment. After a short pause as soft, instrumental song poured over the hidden speakers. It poured over her like water, soothing the tension building in her shoulders.

Slowly, as if pulled, she stood from the chair and made her way to the training mats. She needed to move, she needed to push away the memories that were threatening to consume her.

The music shifted and rolled and she started to move her body with it.

It reminded her of the ocean, deep and fathomless but with a need to find company. The waves always searching and guiding people in, deeper and closer. In a strange way, Cass felt much the same as the ocean. She felt too big for herself, boundless and with depths that tended to hide monsters and never let in any sort of light. And yet, she also felt warmed by the Sun and always excitedly meeting the shore, the outstretched hand of a friend.

The music swelled around her and she twisted with it, body curving and turning to it’s wordless beat.

Cass didn’t know how long the song went on, or if it was even the same one. All she knew was that her muscles were moving in a way fighting criminals never satisfied. The cords of sinew and bone were working in tandem, sway and bending seamlessly and with no thought at all. She didn’t have to tell even the smallest nerve when to move–it just happened.

Never still for longer than a second, Cass moved over the mat with an ease that would make water jealous. Her feet tapped and slid over the ground, always pushing her forward into the next move, the next twist, turn, flip and jump.

A delicious ache started to settle into her muscles. She was sure she had been doing her dance, for it could be nothing else, for longer than she should be. Her lungs burned and her skin felt slick with sweat. But she couldn’t bring her to stop.

Then came the soft intake of breath. A very soft ‘oh’ that echoed from the far side of the cave. It shattered the peace Cass had built around herself; made her open eyes she didn’t realize she had closed.

Turning her head, Cass paused. One arm was stretched out before her, fingers outstretched and reaching for some sort of anchor. Her left leg was bent slightly, keeping her solidly balanced as her right leg swept out, toes pointed and keeping the lines of her body organic and perfect. Her eyes, bright and alive landed on the source of the noise.

Stephanie had returned to the cave. Behind her was a bewildered Tim. Both had their cowls off and their expressions were more open than she had ever seen them.

The music dwindled into the background of Cass’ thoughts as she slowly pulled herself straight.

Stephanie lifted her hands to cover her mouth, eyes wide and threatening to water. Whatever she had seen, however Cass had been moving had hit her like a punch to the gut. Her chest ached and Cass could read her sympathetic pain in every part of her.

Tim was stock still, jaw tight and revealing so much while trying to hide everything else.

Silence stretched between the three of them then Stephanie dropped her hands and rushed forward. She crashed into Cass, arms wrapping tight around her and crushing her close. She buried her face in Cass’ sweaty hair, not minding in the least.

“I shouldn’t have left,” she whispered. “I should have gone with you.”

Two very different things were happening in Stephanie’s words but Cass understood both. She glanced at Tim, who looked like he was having trouble processing. Cass blew out a small breath, lips quirked in a not-smile. It helped to relax the young man.

“You looked so beautiful,” Stephanie continued, voice choppy with emotion that none of them could identify. “I am so sorry, Cass.”

Cass patted Stephanie’s back in a soothing manner.

After a moment and another hard squeeze, Stephanie pulled back, holding at Cass at arms length. Her face twisted into a shrewd look and she glanced back at Tim.

“Did you know she could dance like that?” She asked, more of a demand.

Tim shook his head, stepping forward. “Not at all.”

Stephanie looked back to Cass, eyeing her. She was starting to get the look she got when a dangerous plan was forming. It made Cass swallow nervously.

“Show us.”

Cass blinked, not expecting it.

Stephanie nodded, officially releasing Cass. She stepped back to the edge of the mat, grabbing Tim’s cape along the way. She plopped down onto the ground, dragging him with. Tim managed to sit rather gracefully despite the harsh maneuvering.

“I want to see more,” she said. Then, in a much softer tone, “will you show us more?”

The request went beyond the dancing. Stephanie wanted to see more of Cass, more of the emotions, memories and thoughts locked below the surface. She wanted to be as much a part of Cass’ life as Cass was apart of hers. Stephanie’s imploring stare should have unsettled her but Cass was giving in. She wanted to give herself to Stephanie.

Cass looked to Tim.

“I would like to see,” he agreed.

The dance would be a release for both Cass and Tim. She could use her body in the same way Tim could use his words. But where his words failed him, Cass’ body could free her. He wanted to see Cass at peace and through her peace, he would find a semblance for himself. She found that she wanted to give him that serenity, in anyway that she could.

Cass nodded.

Stephanie smiled but it wasn’t her light-bright smile. It was her small, private one. One that Cass knew she only shared with her and Tim. It was their private smile.

Tim tilted his head back and said, “Computer, continue music.”

Cass closed her eyes and, this time, when the music flowed over her she could also feel the warmth of her two closest friends wrapping around her.

This dance was happier, less like the deep ocean and so much more like a warm lagoon. It was free.


End file.
